New car check list....

[N9nebar]

Hello
I Just got my 99 GDI Viento legnum from japan and was wondering about what things i should check before i break somthing due to ignorance . So far i've put petrol in it (99.2ron 5%bioethanol) washed it (pointless ,its dirty already)got some air fresheners and tightened the driver side wiper nut . So whats next , i've got to get an alarm and immobiliser fitted and a stereo, but what should i be lookin out for under the bonnet ? its an 1.8 automatic with 97500kms .its got lots of little stickers on the drivers door with various mileage on them , but don't know what they mean. Also the side lights ain't workin,turn the switch and the dash lights come on but nowt up front, fuse maybe? don't even know where to look for them. And i've seen the translated owners manuals on ebay, but they don't cover the 1.8 anyone know if they exist?So all help ,hints,tips and advice would be greatly appreciated.........
9Bar

[bradc]

the only thing you really need to worry about is that you put in 99 octane fuel and that the cam belt has either been done already, or that you do it soon.

If it has been done, you'll probably be able to find a sticker on the cambelt cover that will have a date and km's on it

[N9nebar]

Why should i worry about the 99ron fuel Brad, you have me worried now? whaat did i do wrong????

[bradc]

nothing, but GDI's like the best possible fuel

[Kieran]

As Brad says - See here for petrol explanation. Don't worry 99RON is fine. The higher the RON, the better!

http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showpost.php?p=161291&postcount=19

Other than that, servicing is the key - a few pointers:

Get the cambelt, tensioners and waterpump done if there's no evidence to suggest a recent change.

Keep an eye on the ATF. Fresh, ruby red fluid is key. Brown or back ATF is bad!

[Subaru ETA]

and as for the lights not working prob blown bulbs,. if it was a fuse it wouldnt light up on the dash!

first thing i do when i buy a new car is replace all the fluids and do the cambelt etc. that way you know that everything is done because being an import you can never be sure

[swinks]

My advice re: fuel (based on my experience as Galant EA3A with 2.4 GDI owner).
Pour only 95 oktane. GDI engines (you have the same as Carisma 1.8 GDI) suppose to work on 95. Because of GDI mode (extremely poor mixture) you do acheive nothing by richer (oktane) petrol. Otherwise, you can only get bigger deposits on spark plugs.
As well, you should care more than usual of throttle body (deposits) and clean or just check one every 20k miles.
The stickers you mentioned - if japanese - indicate only services done and mileage (in km).
Users manual - if you need any details about engine (servicing and so on) just get service manual from Mitsubishi carisma 1.8 GDI. As said, same engine.
And finally, I'd do full timing and drive belt change (mean pulleys change as well). Just can't rely on sticker. You'll never know. And belt failure may you cost more than you car.

[Kieran]

My advice re: fuel (based on my experience as Galant EA3A with 2.4 GDI owner).
Pour only 95 oktane. GDI engines (you have the same as Carisma 1.8 GDI) suppose to work on 95. Because of GDI mode (extremely poor mixture) you do acheive nothing by richer (oktane) petrol. Otherwise, you can only get bigger deposits on spark plugs.

This isn't correct.

The Japanese-specification 1.8GDi is tuned differently to the european Carisma 1.8GDi. The engine code is the same but it's a different spec (that's why the Galant 1.8GDi has 150bhp and the Charisma Gdi has 125).

The Japanese engine is tuned to take advantage of Japanese fuel and as such has maps for 100RON petrol. You must also bear in mind that when the "GDi Eco" lamp is lit the motor is in ultra-lean mode. The European spec cars do run richer than the Japs (because of our lower quality fuel in Europe, as explained above), but even so, you're still running an AFR above 15:1. Higher octane (better knock resistance) petrol is beneficial in this mode. You get plug deposits from the sulphur, EGR and when it's running rich (quite common when you use crap fuel).

You're spot on with the throttle body deposits though - having no injector flow to clean the runners and a lot of Exhaust Gas Recirculation means they get dirty quite quickly.:scholar:

[swinks]

Right, different mapping, ECU soft, etc. obviously. But in case of spares, servicing... I still guess that any manual from Carisma would be helpful.

[N9nebar]

ok checked the atf and its red ,and this is a pic of the sticker on the cambelt cover
any idea what that means? also the parking/side lights is it possible for both to blow at the same time?

[swinks]

Sticker - looks like just reminder "every 100k km replace".
Side lamps - it's possible to blow off both bulbs at once, but more likely just check fuses, and switches due to corrosion, burns etc.
And for ***** sake, your car done over 98k km. Without any question needs a good massive service: oils, filters, cambelts, drivebelts, spark plugs. That service cost fortune in Japan, so they prefer to sell cars. That's why we have so many offers with Leggys or VR4 around 60k miles for sale in Japan.

[N9nebar]

Why would that sort of service cost a lot in japan? surely the parts would be cheap enough. I think its got more to do with their "shaken" test............. any way heres a pic of me new car ...........theres a scratch at the bottom of the bumper thats visible , a couple of marks on the rear bumper,a tiny ding in the passenger door,and the nearside fog light has dried dirty water inside the cover (any tips on cleaning that?)........http://http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii269/WSLPGP/Carfront.jpg

[Subaru ETA]

if the light still lights up on the dash then it cant be a fuse.....there would be no power in the circuit i wouldnt have thought....

mine blows fog lamp bulbs all the time. prob due to how hot they get

[orionn2o]

If its a new import, might be worth checking to see if its undersealed? And if not get that done

[Robotnik123]

I notice that you're using 5% bioethanol fuel. I am not sure what the verdict is re. our cars and bio fuel. Anyway know? I do know though that they do not have such fuels in Japan, so JDM cars like ours may not be designed to work with bio-fuel. Do you have a 98 or 99RON ordinary petrol alternative? In the long term, I would suggest using ordinary non-bio petrol.